Eddie Murphy has quit as host of next year’s Academy Awards, just hours after director Brett Ratner also bowed out. The Academy announced Murphy’s departure on Wednesday evening, and will now be looking for a new team to head up the show, which is due in just over three months.

Murphy was a controversial choice when he was given the job earlier this year, and many now expect the Academy to go with a safe pair of hands. The likes of Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg could well be offered deals to host the 84th Oscars ceremony, which is set for February 26th 2012.

After taking a risk this year with Anne Hathaway and James Franco, many expected the Academy to go back to basics for 2012. The decision to hire Eddie Murphy was not quite what many expected. But many are now convinced that Billy Crystal must be sat by a phone somewhere, just waiting for that call…